Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: Colorado David on December 11, 2014, 03:29:04 pm

Title: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: Colorado David on December 11, 2014, 03:29:04 pm
I kind of wish the Nikon D810 had an articulated live view screen like the D750.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: NancyP on December 11, 2014, 04:07:26 pm
It is a good feature for tripod users, especially those who shoot close to ground level or above their heads.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: SZRitter on December 11, 2014, 04:48:00 pm
It is a good feature for users, especially those who shoot close to ground level or above their heads.

Fixed it for you.  ;)
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: Torbjörn Tapani on December 11, 2014, 04:59:59 pm
It never cease to amaze me that they can make a camera today without this feature and sell it with a straight face. It is something I use nine times out of ten if I use liveview. But on the D800 I can't. They make a new 810 to fix some problems with the 800 models but leave out the single most useful feature. There is just no excuse.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: Paul2660 on December 11, 2014, 05:14:37 pm
I kind of wish the Nikon D810 had an articulated live view screen like the D750.

Yes that would complete the package. I am working on various iPhone holders to use with Camranger on the D810. Not as elegant but helpful.

Paul
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: NancyP on December 11, 2014, 07:11:21 pm
I suspect that the maximally weatherproofed and sturdiest pro-grade cameras may not have the articulated screen because the designers are worried about failure under extreme conditions. My consumer grade APS-C DSLR, Canon 60D, has the articulated screen, and I love it. Admittedly, most of the time the screen is folded back into the body (screen facing out, or backing facing out), but if I need to shoot low, it's there to be deployed. I worked with a Canon Rebel T1i (no articulated screen) as a medical specimen "copy camera", backache could ensue from longer photo sessions.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: dwswager on December 11, 2014, 10:39:05 pm
I kind of wish the Nikon D810 had an articulated live view screen like the D750.

As someone that had a Minolta right angle finder modified to work on a Nikon N90s, I agree that it is a useful feature to have.  I  don't shoot video, but that is where it would be the MOST useful.  I would want it to articulate sideways too, but up and down beats nothing.  Key is durability.  Can it be durable and ruggedized.

I use Helicon Remote on both my Samsung Note 2 and Asus Nexus Tablet as well.  Never tried lugging a laptop in the field to tether it though, even though I have an Asus UL30VT 13.3" that runs 11.5 hours on a charge.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: rgs on December 11, 2014, 11:28:08 pm
Laptops break at the hinge between the body and screen most often - and it doesn't have to twist. As has been mentioned, I think the reason is durability and weather sealing.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: Colorado David on December 11, 2014, 11:58:43 pm
Over the years I've watched as equipment was repeatedly broken by the same guys when it was owned by a television station or production company.  Those same people don't break anything that belongs to them personally.  I've also seen people who own their own equipment break stuff on pretty regular basis.  For me it just makes sense to be careful with gear whether it is mine or someone else's.  It takes so much less time to be careful than to send stuff off to be repaired and wait for replacement equipment.  I'm pretty sure I'd be able to use an articulated live view screen without breaking it.  On the other hand, I understand why it might be an issue.  I have the angle view finder accessory, but I can't use it in every circumstance.

I have a Sennheiser shotgun mic with a minor bend in it.  I bought it used in that condition from a production company.  I know the guy who bent it.  He went to work for a different company and has since retired.  I filled in on a shoot for the other company and used their equipment.  The Sennheiser mic they had me use had the same bend in the same place.  Some things never change.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: PhotoEcosse on December 12, 2014, 04:53:04 am
I kind of wish the Nikon D810 had an articulated live view screen like the D750.

I suspect that if you asked 100 D810 users what additional features they would like, you would get quite a range of different replies.

For me, an articulated screen would be far down the list as I never use Liveview (or video) but I really would have preferred to have two SD card slots rather than the (to me) stupid arrangement of one SD and one CF.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: dwswager on December 12, 2014, 09:51:26 am
I suspect that if you asked 100 D810 users what additional features they would like, you would get quite a range of different replies.

For me, an articulated screen would be far down the list as I never use Liveview (or video) but I really would have preferred to have two SD card slots rather than the (to me) stupid arrangement of one SD and one CF.

I think #1 on most cameras would be more processing power!  That fundamentally limits the speed of operation and data throughput thereby limiting all sorts of functnality...not least of which is the overall resolution of the sensor that can get used. 

I agree that the 1 and 1 arrangement is weird, but I'd rather have 2 CF slots.   I realize the convenience that most laptops have SD card slots built in, but CF is SO MUCH FASTER than SD.  And I understand, some photographers need the speed while other don't.   But with the controller built into CF, the device just has to be compatible with the wiring, the card handles everything else.  Try putting a 64GB micro SD card into a 2 year old phone.  It will puke because the largest it is told to recognize is 32GB. And if CFAST gets standardized the spread gets even better.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: dwswager on December 12, 2014, 10:06:30 am
Over the years I've watched as equipment was repeatedly broken by the same guys when it was owned by a television station or production company.  Those same people don't break anything that belongs to them personally. 

One of my big rules to my children has always been to treat other people's stuff 'BETTER' than your own.  "If I don't let you stand on the furniture in my house, I don't expect to hear of you standing on the furniture as someone else's or in public."

Three types of people.  First are people that show respect to all things.  Second are those as you mention that respect their own stuff, but ruin 'common' owned stuff (company, public, etc.)  While not exactly the same as  The Tragedy of the Commons (https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Tragedy_of_the_commons.html)!  It is a corollary. It's why if you want to save a species, let people own it.

But there is a type that just breaks everything!  I have an associate, great guy, and we were ordering wired headsets for online meetings.  I told the admin assistant to order and extra set.  He grumbled, but complied.  Took 3 days for my associate to yank the USB plug off the end of the cable.  I just smiled at the assistant when he handed over the extra headset.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . . for articulated accessory EVFs for DSLRs?
Post by: BJL on December 12, 2014, 07:25:49 pm
Laptops break at the hinge between the body and screen most often - and it doesn't have to twist. As has been mentioned, I think the reason is durability and weather sealing.

Weather sealing does not seem to be a major problem; for example, Olympus has been offering articulated rear-screens on its weather sealed top of the line models since the E-3.  Robustness hardly seems an issue, given that you could just tape or glue the screen into place if you are worried about that enough to forego the articulation.

But maybe an articulated accessory EVF would be a smarter option for DSLRs.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . . for articulated accessory EVFs for DSLRs?
Post by: rgs on December 13, 2014, 06:13:11 pm
Weather sealing does not seem to be a major problem; for example, Olympus has been offering articulated rear-screens on its weather sealed top of the line models since the E-3.  Robustness hardly seems an issue, given that you could just tape or glue the screen into place if you are worried about that enough to forego the articulation.

But maybe an articulated accessory EVF would be a smarter option for DSLRs.

Didn't mean to imply that it couldn't be done, just that these may be the considerations that the engineers had in mind. I am not the first to suggest this.

However a better, if slightly more involved, solution is to use your phone or a tablet for a display. It's bigger (unless you have an old iPhone) and probably better quality. It can be done with a simple cord (or wireless if available) and a very inexpensive app. And it's more versatile than a flippy screen.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . . for articulated accessory EVFs for DSLRs?
Post by: armand on December 13, 2014, 06:24:20 pm
Didn't mean to imply that it couldn't be done, just that these may be the considerations that the engineers had in mind. I am not the first to suggest this.

However a better, if slightly more involved, solution is to use your phone or a tablet for a display. It's bigger (unless you have an old iPhone) and probably better quality. It can be done with a simple cord (or wireless if available) and a very inexpensive app. And it's more versatile than a flippy screen.

That is if the camera has WiFi/Bluetooth as adding a cable of WiFi adapter might break the weather sealing anyway.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: rgs on December 13, 2014, 06:30:51 pm
The cable (which came with the camera) plugs into the micro USB, HDMI, or whatever other outlet the camera already has for auxiliary display and then, via an inexpensive adapter, the phone or tablet.  No need to break any sealing. WIFI just eliminates the need for the cable. Like I said, more useful than a flippy screen. A laptop works too but it's a bit more clumsy.
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: armand on December 13, 2014, 06:48:25 pm
I got what you were saying.
My point was, and I may be wrong, that if you open those doors to plug a cable they stay open and I'm not sure how good the weather sealing is if the doors stay open?!
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: Paul2660 on December 13, 2014, 09:15:57 pm
The cable (which came with the camera) plugs into the micro USB, HDMI, or whatever other outlet the camera already has for auxiliary display and then, via an inexpensive adapter, the phone or tablet.  No need to break any sealing. WIFI just eliminates the need for the cable. Like I said, more useful than a flippy screen. A laptop works too but it's a bit more clumsy.

Richard,  can elaborate a bit more on this?  I understand about the cable coming from the camera but what adapter to plug the cable into an iPhone or tablet?  I can see an external LCD taking the video feed but using the phone is a bit more difficult to figure out.   Also what app on the phone or tablet will display the live view video feed?  Your solution is more of what I am looking for, as I only want to see the live view feed on the phone. Camrsnger will allow this along with a lot more comtrol, but has the added controller that has to plug in to the camera.   I have a good solution to hold the iPhone via the flash hotshoe.

Thanks

Paul
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: rgs on December 13, 2014, 10:46:06 pm
Richard,  can elaborate a bit more on this?  I understand about the cable coming from the camera but what adapter to plug the cable into an iPhone or tablet?  I can see an external LCD taking the video feed but using the phone is a bit more difficult to figure out.   Also what app on the phone or tablet will display the live view video feed?  Your solution is more of what I am looking for, as I only want to see the live view feed on the phone. Camrsnger will allow this along with a lot more comtrol, but has the added controller that has to plug in to the camera.   I have a good solution to hold the iPhone via the flash hotshoe.

Thanks

Paul


It's called an OTG cable (for "On the Go"). Here's a link for the android version: http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=otg%20cables . I've seen the Apple version at Best Buy. It just goes from the input on the phone to a female USB so you can plug your camera cable into it.

The best app I've found is DSLR Controller. Here's a link: http://dslrcontroller.com/. It's about $10 but works well and makes most of your camera controls available on the phone. If you want a free one it's called DSLR Dashboard and also works well. This one may only be available for Android. Here's a link for that: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dslr.dashboard&hl=en

Hope that helps. 
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: BernardLanguillier on December 14, 2014, 04:21:55 am
I suspect that if you asked 100 D810 users what additional features they would like, you would get quite a range of different replies.

For me, an articulated screen would be far down the list as I never use Liveview (or video) but I really would have preferred to have two SD card slots rather than the (to me) stupid arrangement of one SD and one CF.

We all have different views on things. I am personnally happy to be able to continue to use my collection of expensive CF cards.

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: Paul2660 on December 14, 2014, 08:36:59 am
It's called an OTG cable (for "On the Go"). Here's a link for the android version: http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=otg%20cables . I've seen the Apple version at Best Buy. It just goes from the input on the phone to a female USB so you can plug your camera cable into it.

The best app I've found is DSLR Controller. Here's a link: http://dslrcontroller.com/. It's about $10 but works well and makes most of your camera controls available on the phone. If you want a free one it's called DSLR Dashboard and also works well. This one may only be available for Android. Here's a link for that: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dslr.dashboard&hl=en

Hope that helps. 

Richard.

Thanks. This helps a lot.

Paul
Title: Re: I sorta wish . . .
Post by: dwswager on December 14, 2014, 02:19:21 pm
Richard.

Thanks. This helps a lot.

Paul


Paul, I lost the ball on this part of the thread, but the device you are using must have USB Host Controller capability.  Just because it has a USB port does not mean it can act as a Host.  For example, my Samsung Note 2 phone has it.  Samsung Tab 3 7" tablet does not, but the larger Tab 3 tablets do.  As I am aware, the  iPhone 4s and down don't, but the iPhone 5 and up does (though with Apple it might be squirrelly). Lightning is a proprietary connector for USB.
Title: articulated accessory EVFs for DSLRs vs phone apps
Post by: BJL on December 15, 2014, 03:45:39 pm
However a better, if slightly more involved, solution is to use your phone or a tablet for a display. It's bigger (unless you have an old iPhone) and probably better quality. It can be done with a simple cord (or wireless if available) and a very inexpensive app. And it's more versatile than a flippy screen.
Yes, that could be a nice option too; especially with a fast wireless connection.

I would still like there to also be the option of "one-eyed composing" on a tiltable EFV with a comfortable, light-blocking eye-rest, for those camera-holding and lighting situations where that works better than the "two-eyed" options of composing on the screen on the back of a camera or on a phone.  Surely some of the people shooting hand-held on DSLRs would like that.